(a) This Chapter shall be known as the “Lincoln Living Wage Ordinance."

(b) The City of Lincoln employs many individuals and awards many contracts to private firms to provide services to the public and to City Government. Such expenditures of public money are intended to serve a public purpose by creating good paying jobs, expanding the City’s economic base, promoting economic security for all citizens, and providing public services. Such public expenditures should be spent only with deliberate purpose to promote the creation of jobs that allow citizens to support themselves and their families. Sub-poverty level wages do not serve the public purpose and place an undue burden on taxpayers and the community which must further subsidize employers who pay sub-poverty wages by providing their employees health care, housing, nutrition, energy assistance, and other government provided services.

(c) The City therefore has a responsibility when spending public money to set a community standard that permits workers employed through such public funding to live above at least the federal poverty guideline, and to move towards living wage employment. The City finds that it is within its discretion to set a Base Wage Rate for specified employees in furtherance of a legitimate public purpose and to define the term responsible bidder for purposes of the Lincoln City Charter and Nebraska law.

(d) It is the intent of this ordinance to legislate minimum wages and health benefits of individuals that perform pursuant to a contract with the City as opposed to all employees of a party who has contracted with the City.